Herbert Witherspoon (July 21, 1873 – May 10, 1935) was an American bass singer and

opera manager Opera management is the management of the processes by which opera is delivered to audiences. It is carried out by an opera manager, also called a general manager, managing director, or intendant (UK English). A multifaceted task, it involves managi ...

Biography

He was born on July 21, 1873, in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. He graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1895 where he had performed as a member of the

Yale Glee Club The Yale Glee Club is a mixed chorus of men and women, consisting of students of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1861, it is the third oldest collegiate chorus in the United States after the Harvard Glee Club, founded in ...

. After leaving school he studied music with

Horatio Parker Horatio William Parker (September 15, 1863 – December 18, 1919) was an American composer, organist and teacher. He was a central figure in musical life in New Haven, Connecticut in the late 19th century, and is best remembered as the undergradu ...

Edward MacDowell Edward Alexander MacDowell (December 18, 1860January 23, 1908) was an American composer and pianist of the late Romantic period. He was best known for his second piano concerto and his piano suites '' Woodland Sketches'', ''Sea Pieces'' and '' ...

, and Gustav Stoeckel. Witherspoon also studied singing with Walter Henry Hall and Max Treumann in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. For further study he traveled to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. He worked in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

with Jean-Baptiste Faure and

Jacques Bouhy Jacques-Joseph-André Bouhy (18 June 1848 – 29 January 1929) was a Belgian baritone, most famous for being the first to sing the " Toreador Song" in the role of Escamillo in the opera ''Carmen''. Bouhy was born in Pepinster. After studying at ...

and in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

with

Francesco Lamperti Francesco Lamperti (11 March 1811 or 1813 – 1 May 1892) was an Italian singing teacher. Biography A native of Savona, Lamperti attended the Milan Conservatory where, beginning in 1850, he taught for a quarter of a century. He was director ...

and also studied in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. Witherspoon made his singing debut in 1898 with a small company in New York, and soon was making many appearances in concert and in

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

s. On November 26, 1908, he made his debut with the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

as Titurel in Richard Wagner's ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival ...

''. He remained with the company until his retirement from singing in 1914, at which point he chose to concentrate on teaching. Witherspoon made many recordings for the

Victor Talking Machine Company The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

between 1907 and 1917. On June 20, 1916 in Manhattan he married

Florence Hinkle Florence Hinkle (June 22, 1885 - April 19, 1933) was an operatic soprano. Biography She was born on June 22, 1885, in Columbia, Pennsylvania. She toured with the Metropolitan Opera Company, and in 1915, appeared in Richmond, Virginia. In 1919, s ...

as his second wife. In 1925, Witherspoon became president of the

Chicago Musical College Chicago Musical College is a division of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. History Founding Dr. Florenz Ziegfeld Sr (1841–1923), founded the college in 1867 as the Chicago Academy of Music. The institution h ...

. In 1930 he became artistic director of the

Chicago Civic Opera The Civic Opera Company (1922–1931) was a Chicago company that produced seven seasons of grand opera in the Auditorium Theatre from 1922 to 1928, and three seasons at its own Civic Opera House from 1929 to 1931 before falling victim to financi ...

, and in 1931 took over as president of the Cincinnati Conservatory. On the strength of his work in these positions, Witherspoon was named to succeed

Giulio Gatti-Casazza Giulio Gatti-Casazza (3 February 1869 – 2 September 1940) was an Italian opera manager. He was general manager of La Scala in Milan, Italy, from 1898 to 1908 and later the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1908 to 1935. Biography ...

when the latter retired as General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in 1935. After the death of Florence Hinkle in 1933, he married Blanche Sternberg Skeath. Witherspoon died suddenly on May 10, 1935, at the Metropolitan Opera House. He was barely six weeks into his term as general manager, when he collapsed at his desk from a heart attack while meeting with Met assistant manager, Edward Ziegler. His last words, after Ziegler gave him the news that subscriptions for the 1935–1936 season were exceeding expectations, were, "That's grand." In 1944 his widow became the managing director of the new Ballet International. His will set aside money for the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

to buy music scripts to be donated in the name of Florence Hinkle, his second wife. The remainder of his estate went to his third wife, Blanche Sternberg Skeath.

Legacy

Witherspoon was succeeded as General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera by

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

Edward Johnson. During his career he also taught singing privately. One of his students was Met soprano

Mabel Garrison Mabel Garrison Siemonn (April 24, 1886 – August 20, 1963), was an American coloratura soprano who sang at the Metropolitan Opera from 1914 to 1921. Biography Garrison was born in Baltimore, Maryland on April 24, 1886. She graduated from We ...

Works or publications

*''36 lessons in singing for teacher and student''. *''Singing; a treatise for teachers and students''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Witherspoon, Herbert 1873 births 1935 deaths American operatic basses Opera managers Metropolitan Opera people Musicians from Buffalo, New York Singers from New York (state) Yale University alumni 20th-century American male opera singers Classical musicians from New York (state) 19th-century American male opera singers